KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Terry Francona isn't opposed to the idea of sending a pitcher out for a 10th inning, but the manager didn't want his ace, Corey Kluber, to grow tired against the middle of Kansas City's lineup on Thursday.

No Indians hurler has pitched 10 innings since Dennis Martinez in 1994. Kluber exited the game -- which Cleveland lost, 2-1, in 14 innings -- after nine frames, having limited the Royals to one unearned run on two hits. He didn't walk a batter and he struck out 10 during his 107-pitch performance. The Royals had Omar Infante, Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez scheduled to bat in the 10th.

"If you pitch that well and [I] send them out there, I would have to think they'd have the chance to get through the inning," Francona said. "When you have the middle of the order [coming up] and you're looking at a guy being at 120 [pitches] and facing their best hitters -- I don't think that's fair."

Kluber was victimized by a wacky play in left field in the eighth inning that handed the Royals their only run off the right-hander. After Ryan Raburn couldn't complete a sliding catch, he spiked the baseball into the ground on his attempt at a relay toward the infield. As the ball squirted to center field, Kansas City's Mike Moustakas hustled home.

Francona said he had no concerns about Kluber's ability to shake off the play.

"I don't think he was happy about that last night," Francona said, "but what are you going to do? The run scored. You just try to keep it at one so we have a chance and he did and then we did score. Sometimes things are out of your control. I think Kluber has a very good grasp of controlling what he can control, especially for a younger guy."

Testing, testing: Should Asdrubal Cabrera avoid any setbacks, the Indians expect the shortstop to be available for Saturday. Cabrera, mending a balky lower back, likely will not start, but could be primed to return to the lineup on Sunday. The club has an off-day on Monday.

"He's doing much better," Francona said.

No surprises: There is no longer much shock and awe when Kluber delivers an effort such as the one he turned in on Thursday. The 28-year-old lowered his ERA to 2.77. He now has 162 strikeouts and only 33 walks in 149 1/3 innings.

"He has that capability," Francona said. "You're not going to see that every time out. That's impossible. That was pretty special stuff."

Rotating:Justin Masterson was slated to start for Triple-A Columbus on Friday. After that, he could be set to rejoin the rotation next week. Special assistant Tim Belcher has been monitoring the right-hander's progress.

"I think we're hoping this is the last one," Francona said. "He could, technically, [make another]. I think we'd like for him to be ready to go."

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